BABSON PARK, Mass.—First-year Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points and junior David Mack (Holden, Mass.) added 18 points and eight rebounds helping Babson College defeat Clark University, 68-53, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium.

With its fifth straight win, Babson is now 18-5 overall and 9-3 in the NEWMAC, while Clark drops to 12-11 overall and 3-9 in conference play.

Flannery grabbed eight boards, dished out four assists and collected three steals, while first-yearSam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) netted a career-high 14 points in 39 minutes for the Beavers. Junior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) added nine points, all in the second half, and tied for game-high honors with eight boards.

Senior Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) led the Cougars with 16 points while junior Conor Dow (Needham, Mass.) chipped in with 12.

Trailing 33-32 at halftime, Babson opened the second-half with a 15-1 run, getting 13 of the points from Mack and Wickey, to grab a 47-34 lead just 4:43 into the period. Clark wouldn't go away though, as nine straight points from Dow sparked a 15-5 burst that cut the Beavers advantage to just 52-49 with 9:43 to go.

Flannery buried a three-pointer from the corner two possessions later, and followed a Wickey layup with one of his own to put the Green and White back in front by 10, 59-49, with 7:07 left. The Cougars would get as close as six following a jumper by senior Jake Gubitose (Fiskdale, Mass.), but Babson scored on four straight possessions, including back-to-back hoops by Flannery to make it 66-53 with 2:29 remaining.

Despite a slow start, Babson used a 13-2 run to open up its biggest advantage of the half at 19-8 with 10:32 left. Bohmiller drilled a three-pointer, followed by back-to-back layups from junior Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) and senior Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.). Senior Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.) scored his first bucket of the game for the Cougars, but consecutive layups by Flannery, Dean and Mack gave the Green and White an 11-point edge.

Clark finished the stanza with a 25-13 spurt though, getting 12 points from DaPrato during the run and making five of its final six field-goal attempts to take a 33-32 lead into the locker room. The Beavers shot just 35.5 percent (11-for-31) over the opening 20 minutes, including a 2-of-9 effort from three-point range.

Babson shot just 38.3 percent (23-for-60) on the afternoon and struggled from beyond the arc, going just 4-for-23. The Beavers pulled down 17 offensive rebounds while holding a 45-29 edge on the glass for the game.

The Cougars finished the afternoon shooting just 35.8 percent (19-for-53) and made just six field goals after halftime.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Babson is at Coast Guard for a 7 p.m. tipoff, while Clark hosts Springfield at 5 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Babson is now 25-38 all-time against Clark… the Beavers current five-game winning streak is their longest of the season…Babson wrapped up the regular season going 10-2 in Staake Gymnasium with eight of the victories coming by double figures…the Beavers are now 17-4 on the year when scoring 60 points or more, and have now won 23 consecutive games when holding their opponents below 40 percent shooting…Saturday's contest marked the final regular-season home game for Palazini and fellow seniors Zach Price (Franklin, Mass.) and Kenny Ross (Furlong, Pa.).